Blake Lewis totally should have won American Idol. (I voted for him and cried when he lost!) But at least he can still win our hearts with this interpretation of a classic Christmas carol!
Enjoy!
Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman
One Battle After Another Emerges From The Ashes Of Phoenix
The Phoenix Critics Circle has announced their picks for the best of 2025! The winners are listed in bold.
BEST PICTURE
HAMNET
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
SINNERS
BEST COMEDY FILM
THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND
BUGONIA
FRIENDSHIP
THE NAKED GUN
RENTAL FAMILY
BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM
BUGONIA
COMPANION
FRANKENSTEIN
MICKEY 17
THE RUNNING MAN
BEST HORROR FILM
28 YEARS LATER
BRING HER BACK
SINNERS
THE UGLY STEPSISTER
WEAPONS
BEST ANIMATED FILM
ELIO
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS
ZOOTOPIA 2
BEST DOCUMENTARY
DEAF PRESIDENT NOW!
LILITH FAIR: BUILDING A MYSTERY
ORWELL: 2+2=5
PREDATORS
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
NO OTHER CHOICE
THE SECRET AGENT
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
SIRAT
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, MARTY SUPREME
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
JOEL EDGERTON, TRAIN DREAMS
OSCAR ISAAC, FRANKENSTEIN
MICHAEL B. JORDAN, SINNERS
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
JESSIE BUCKLEY, HAMNET
ROSE BYRNE, IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
CHASE INFINITI, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
JENNIFER LAWRENCE, DIE MY LOVE
RENATE REINSVE, SENTIMENTAL VALUE
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
BENICIO DEL TORO, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
JACOB ELORDI, FRANKENSTEIN
DELROY LINDO, SINNERS
SEAN PENN, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
STELLAN SKARSGARD, SENTIMENTAL VALUE
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
ODESSA A’ZION, MARTY SUPREME
INGA IBSDOTTER LILLEAAS, SENTIMENTAL VALUE
AMY MADIGAN, WEAPONS
WUNMI MOSAKU, SINNERS
TEYANA TAYLOR, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
BEST DIRECTOR
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
PARK CHAN-WOOK, NO OTHER CHOICE
RYAN COOGLER, SINNERS
JAFAR PANAHI, IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
JOACHIM TRIER, SENTIMENTAL VALUE
BEST SCREENPLAY
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
RYAN COOGLER, SINNERS
JAFAR PANAHI, IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
JOACHIM TRIER & ESKIL VOGT, SENTIMENTAL VALUE
EVA VICTOR, SORRY, BABY
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
MICHAEL BAUMAN, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
AUTUMN DURALD ARKAPAW, SINNERS
ADOLPHO VELOSO, TRAIN DREAMS
KIM WOO-HYUNG, NO OTHER CHOICE
BEST SCORE
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, FRANKENSTEIN
JONNY GREENWOOD, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
LUDWIG GORANSSON, SINNERS
KANGDING RAY, SIRAT
BEST STUNT COORDINATION
FRANKENSTEIN
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
SINNERS
WEAPONS
One Battle After Another Wins In Chicago
The Chicago Film Critics Association has announced their picks for the best of 2025. The winners are listed in bold.
BEST PICTURE
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Mona Fastvold – The Testament of Ann Lee
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Odessa A’Zion – Marty Supreme
Nina Hoss – Hedda
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Blue Moon by Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi
Marty Supreme by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
Sinners by Ryan Coogler
Sorry, Baby by Eva Victor
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Hamnet by Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook – Lee Kyoung-mi – Don McKellar – & Jahye Lee
One Battle After Another by Paul Thomas Anderson
Train Dreams by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Wake Up Dead Man by Rian Johnson
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco
Boys Go to Jupiter
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cover-Up
My Undesirable Friends – Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirat
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Phoenician Scheme
Sinners
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Lukasz Zal – Hamnet
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
Malgorzata Karpiuk – The Testament of Ann Lee
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good
BEST EDITING
Jon Harris – 28 Years Later
Stephen Mirrione & Patrick J. Smith – F1: The Movie
Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Kim Sang-beom & Kim Ho-bin – No Other Choice
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Rob Mazurek – The Mastermind
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
Ludwig Goransson – Sinners
Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee
Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams
BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Mickey 17
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Sinners
MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Carson Lund – Eephus
James Sweeney – Twinless
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Miles Caton – Sinners
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangare – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
Holidays On The Lens: Christmas At The Amish Bakery (dir by Jeff Hare)
In 2023’s Christmas At The Amish Bakery, book editor Sarah (Alexandra Harris) returns to her Amish roots, hoping to put together an Amish cookbook. (“The Amish are famous for the baking!” Sarah’s boss says.) But what happens when Sarah discovers love and the true meaning of the holidays?
You can probably guess.
This is like the ultimate Hallmark Amish Christmas movie. If you know, you know.
Song of the Day: Vampira by Bobby Bare
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959, dir by Ed Wood)
103 years ago today, Maila Nurmi was born in Massachusetts. Nurmi would go on to find fame as Vampira, television’s first horror movie hostess. Though she is now best-remembered for playing one of the zombies in Plan 9 From Outer Space, Nurmi actually had a long and varied show business career. James Dean was her best friend. She had an affair with Orson Welles. Walt Disney used her as a model for the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella. She was commissioned to make jewelry and clothing for both Grace Slick and Frank Zappa.
Today’s song of the day came out in 1958. Here’s Bobby Bare singing about Vampira.
Scenes That I Love: Betsy Palmer in Friday the 13th
Today would have been the 99th birthday of actress Betsy Palmer.
Though Palmer started her acting career in 1951 and was a regular on television, she will always be best known for playing Mrs. Voorhees in 1980’s Friday the 13th. It’s a role that she took, in her own words, because she needed $10,000 to buy a new car. At the time that the film was first released, Palmer did not particularly care for the film but she also definitely also gave the best performance. It’s impossible to imagine that the film would have been as much of a success without her. The scene where she speaks in the voice of Jason inspired Harry Manfredini’s iconic score. Palmer eventually came to embrace her status of being a horror icon.
Today’s scene of the day comes from Friday the 13th. Here is Betsy Palmer as Mrs. Voorhees, an old friend of the Christys.
4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films: Special Horror Edition
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972, dir by Theodore Gershuny)
Black Christmas (1974, dir by Bob Clark)
The Silent Partner (1978, dir by Daryl Duke)
Christmas Evil (1980, dir by Lewis Jackson)
Music Video of the Day: You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton (2018, dir by Sophie Muller)
Awwwwww! Gwen and Blake are so cute together. (No, I don’t want to hear about those break-up rumors right now! It’s the holidays!)
There’s a lot of reasons why this video works but really, it all comes down to charisma and chemistry. Gwen and Blake look like they should be celebrating Christmas together and, when you watch, you want to celebrate with them.
Enjoy!
The Films of 2025: The Lost Bus (dir by Paul Greengrass)
If you’re like me and you have not only asthma but also a huge phobia about getting caught in the middle of an out-of-control fire, you should definitely make sure you have your inhaler nearby while watching The Lost Bus.
Based on an actual California wildfire that killed over 80 people in 2018, The Lost Bus takes the viewer straight into the fire. We watch as one power line falls off of a poorly maintained tower. We see the sparks and then we see the fire that starts to burn almost immediately. Soon, the fire is moving down the mountain and through the forest. The camera zooms into the heart of the growing disaster and the viewer spends many horrifying minutes in the middle of the inferno, watching as trees burst into flames and the black smoke turns the sky dark as night. We hear the wind blowing the fire closer and closer to civilization and we realize, even before the majority of the characters in the film, that there’s no way to stop it. Tears came to my eyes as I watched the fire destroying everything that it touched and I did have to grab my inhaler at one point. The film’s visualization of the wildfire overwhelms you, to the extent that you might actually feel the heat radiating off of the screen.
When the film shifts away from the fire, it’s focuses on Kevin (Matthew McConaughey), a directionless man who has recently returned to his hometown and who works as a school bus driver. When he first realizes how bad the fire is, his first instinct is to rush back to his home but then he hears over the radio that there are over 20 children at an elementary school who need to be taken to safety. Kevin’s bus is the only one in the area. He picks up the children and their teacher, Mary (America Ferrara) and tries to drive them to another area so that they can be reunited with their parents. While Kevin is just trying to get his bus and the kids to safety, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection fights a losing battle to try to contain the inferno.
Both Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrara are playing rather familiar characters. Kevin is the perennial screw-up, the guy who is on the verge of losing his job but who ultimately proves himself to be the type of hero that no one expected him to be. Mary is the dedicated teacher who tells the kids to walk in a straight line and who tries to keep them calm even when new fires are erupting around them. Kevin never wanted to come back to his hometown while Mary never wants to leave it. Though the characters may be familiar, McConaughey and Ferrara both give authentic and lived-in performances. That said, the most compelling character remains the fire itself, a creation of pure out-of-control chaos and a reminder of the heart-breaking randomness of life.
This is another one of Paul Greengrass’s shaky cam docudramas. As a filmmaker, Greengrass is one of the best when it comes to putting the viewer right in the middle of the action and, for once, not even Greengrass’s signature political posturing can stop the film’s momentum. The Lost Bus is a film that ultimately celebrates not only community but also how one individual can make a difference in a time of crisis. It’s a film that left me out-of-breath and with tears in my eyes.
Here are the 2025 nominations of the Austin Film Critics Association!
Here are the 2025 nominations of the Austin Film Critics Association!
Best Picture
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams
Weapons
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone, Bugonia
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Best Supporting Actress
Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
David Jonsson, The Long Walk
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Best Ensemble
The Long Walk
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Original Screenplay
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Zach Cregger, Weapons
Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent
Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon, One Battle After Another
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Denis Johnson, Train Dreams
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, Don McKellar, Donald E. Westlake, No Other Choice
Guillermo del Toro, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Will Tracy, Jang Joon-hwan, Bugonia
Best Cinematography
Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald, Sinners
Darius Khondji, Marty Supreme
Dan Laustsen, Frankenstein
Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams
Best Editing
Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another
Stephen Mirrione, F1: The Movie
Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
Joe Murphy, Weapons
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Best Original Score
Daniel Blumberg, The Testament of Ann Lee
Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (NiN), Tron: Ares
Best International Film
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt
Best Documentary
Come See Me In The Good Light
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Librarians
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators
Best Animated Film
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance
Oona Chaplin, Avatar: Fire & Ash
Arden Cho, Audrey Nuna, KPop Demon Hunters
Will Patton, Train Dreams
Stephen Lang, Avatar: Fire & Ash
Zoe Saldaña, Avatar: Fire & Ash
Best Stunt Work
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire & Ash
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
Sinners
Superman
Best Remake/Franchise Film
Avatar: Fire & Ash
Frankenstein
Superman
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
28 Years Later
Best First Film
Andrew DeYoung, Friendship
Carson Lund, Eephus
Charlie Polinger, The Plague
Kristen Stewart, The Chronology of Water
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Through the Shattered Lens 